The spontaneous spread of the demonstrations without
organized help from unions has complicated state and federal
government efforts to negotiate with the protesters. So far,
isolated attempts by the government have not been fruitful in
meeting their demands.

"There is no sign the blockage in Sorriso (Mato Grosso) and
the other towns in the state is ending," said a representative
for Rota do Oeste, the consortium that operates the BR 163
highway on Tuesday. "Trucks are not getting through."

Truckers started restricting the flow of goods along BR 163,
the main highway running through top soybean-producing state
Mato Grosso, on Feb. 18 but the demonstrations quickly spread
and spilled into as many as six states by Monday, including
Minas Gerais, Parana, Goias and Rio Grande do Sul.

A ragtag group of smaller logistics companies and
independent truckers have called for state and federal relief in
diesel and toll prices, which protesters say are squeezing their
profits.

A 15-centavo-per-liter ($0.20/gallon) increase in diesel
taxes took effect on Feb. 1. Over the past week, the price of
diesel has averaged 3.06 reais a liter ($4.15/gallon) in Mato
Grosso, according to the National Petroleum Agency.

Truckers have crammed into roadside stops, grassy medians
and along shoulders of roads leading in and out of towns across
the center-south farm belt. They are allowing cars and public
transport to pass but have clamped down on truck movement.